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Friday, November 07, 2008

Welcome to the roller coaster. It appears the Obama mandate has brought back the eternal conflict of reasonable Jim vs. wacko Jim.

U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, the Republican pork-barreller from Alaska, found guilty just before the election of seven felonies involving work done but not billed by contractors on a house he owns, stands shockingly on the verge of re-election. I’m convinced that one of the most pervasive forms of corruption in politics is not reporting improvements made on property politicians own, or getting contracts to provide services or advice to companies or organizations pursuing apublic policy agenda.

Surely there must be some hidden agenda here but I can't find it. The horrific hubris of Stevens apparently shocks even Jim.

Secretary of State Karen Handel gets the treatment that partisan Democrats accorded Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — and that is to attempt to tarnish her so that she’s no future political threat to them. Conservative women and blacks do have that cross to bear. How about Palin-Jindal ticket (as in Louisiana Gov. Bobby) in 2012? Jindal-Palin works, too. For the record, Handel superbly managed a difficult election where partisans were gunning for something that would gin up Democratic turnout.

Let's take this one in two parts. First, Handel's handling of the election was decidedly mixed, but we'll have plenty of time to discuss her performance over the next two years. As far as Palin? Thank goodness wacky Jim is back. If I agree with Wooten too much, Scott Freeman tends to lose his mind.

After all the partisan election hoopla is past, the General Assembly does need to establish a clear standard, not subject to interpretation, to determine where a candidate lives. A homestead exemption for those who own a home is the highest and best. While they’re at it, they should absolutely eliminate the requirement that members of the Public Service Commission live in districts. There’s nological reason whatsoever for that provision

Agreed. Agreed. Agreed. Reasonable Jim is back.

In the Georgia House of Representatives, 16 seats had no incumbent. Of those, only one changed parties — that of Republican Robert Munford of Conyers, who retired knowing that his district had become solidly Democratic. It was, too. Democrat Toney Collins won with 62 percent of the vote. Only four of the 16 were even challenged by the other party. Redistricting software and the Voting Rights Act have virtually eliminated party competition.

I know the swipe at the VRA is snide and it's an issue far more complicated than so-called conservatives would have you believe, but ultimately, Jim's analysis is correct.

Veteran Democratic legislator Jeanette Jamison of Toccoa lost Tuesday in one of those districts that has gone to the other party. She brought a great deal of good common sense as well as institutional, and education, knowledge to Atlanta.She could have switched parties but chose to remain a Democrat. It may have been principle, but probably was just stubbornness

Praise for a Democrat? But notice the implication that Democrats never act on principle. Enjoying the rollercoaster? It's about to go through a loopty loop.

Georgia State Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) and I practiced unity across the great ideological divide — to no avail. We both opposed Amendment 2 and it squeaked by statewide.

WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!

California voters, despite the state’s Left Coast reputation, can be surprisingly sane. They affirmed that marriage is one man/one woman, and rejected a measure to ease punishment for drug offenders and another to require utilities to generate half of their power from “renewable” sources by 2025. Rejected too was a proposal that would have obligated California taxpayers for $325 million per year for renewable energy research. When voters discover who’s paying the tab for some group’s zealotry, sanity usually kicks in.

Thank God we are back on the flat part of the track. Tell me something, Jim. What tab has to be paid when two people in a committed relationship want the same contractual recognition other loving couples are afforded? I thought commitment was a conservative principle.

The left loves John McCain again. Nobody is quite so dear to them as themaverick Republican they once loved who loses.

You know who loves John McCain? Independents and moderates. The people who left his ticket in droves once the true horror of the Palin pick became apparent. The same people who wept a little at his gracious concession speech and probably wondered what could have been. You know who I would argue does not love John McCain - the people who forced him to campaign as something he was not.

Speaking of those people.

No sooner had Barack Obama been elected than the interest groups on the left jumped up to claim credit — or to interpret his win as evidence of the popularity of their cause.

And no sooner had John McCain been pushed aside than some on the right felt the need to embrace the cold comfort of the witch hunt.